Jamaica hints a law banning anti-LGBT discrimination may be passed

In response to a report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) criticizing Jamaica for its abuse of its LGBT citizens, the country's Minister of Justice hinted that an anti-discrimination legislation, inclusive of sexual orientation, maybe introduced. IACHR latest report on the human rights situation in Jamaica, released on 3 January, was scathing of the country’s treatment of its LGBT population citing rampant abuse of gays and lesbian Jamaican by state and non-state sectors. It called for measures to combat anti-gay hate, for Jamaica to implement obligations under its voluntarily signatory to the American Convention on Human Rights and to decriminalize gay sex. In response, the Jamaican government initially claimed that there was no discrimination against gay Jamaicans. However, during a radio interview yesterday (5 January), the Jamaican Minister of Justice, Mark Goldin, admitted that anti-discrimination legislation was necessary to address violations against certain groups in the society. Golding stated that although the Jamaican Charter of Rights gives constitutional protection to individuals, laws need target more people who suffer discrimination.